


Gone & Among The Living

by Choppywheat



Category: NCT (Band), We Go Up - NCT Dream (Music Video), Without You - NCT U (Music Video)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Anxiety, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Future Fic, Implied Sexual Content, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Is The Sun, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan is a Confident Gay, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Smut, Plot, Sassy Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Sunburn, Threats of Violence, Violence, markhyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-23 19:55:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choppywheat/pseuds/Choppywheat
Summary: Enjoy :)





	1. Galaxy-wide tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy :)

A heavy sigh.

Some uncomfortable silence, with some awkward shuffling in between.

At first, none of the boys wanted to speak, as the three of them all knew what the topic was and oh, were they dreading it. It floated through the air, and it was as if the other customers could smell it. It was gross, one of the boys imagined, gross like the way a lake smells when you can tell fish are dying. The type of smell that will stick with you for hours after catching the smallest of whiffs.

All of them opened their mouth at once, only to clamp them all shut in sync. In a normal conversation, they would've all erupted into an uproarious laughter, filling the stifling too-quiet-to-be-a-coffeehouse atmosphere and spilling the joyful noise onto the street outside.

Today, they weren't having a normal conversation. Two of the three boys were about to listen to something very distressing, and the one spewing it out will be very uncomfortable while the words fell from his thin lips. So, no one laughed.

No one even cracked a smile.

The boy with the confession, his name is Mark Lee, started to do just that. He confessed.

"Last night," he paused, not for performance, but to hide his blush because of the strong voice crack that poked through his words. "Last night, I was dreaming about the-" he looked around, the weight of his confession evident in the dark bags that had moved in under his eyes, and even more apparent in the way he constantly looked around himself. All the time. "....the Sun again." He whispered the last couple of words, his grip tightening around his once steamy mug.

He didn't dare to glance at his companions, as he's realized he didn't want to witness their reactions. Nothing happened for a minute or two. A sweet, hopeful couple of minutes where Mark humored himself with positivity. _They aren't upset or anything, they're just choosing something to say._ Mark thought, his usual air of confidence returning. As a third minute past, he let the realist in him shine through, deflating as he let his hands fall into his lap.

_Definitely upset._

There was an unsettling silence.

No one, and i mean no one talked about the sun or the moon. Space in itself was avoided as a subject.

Soft words were spoken, making Mark drag his gaze away from his fidgeting fingers back up to his friends.

"Is it getting better...?" His pink, cotton candy haired friend looked at him with something akin to pity hidden in a blanket of seriousness in his eyes. He was quite the visual, his tan skin contrasting warmly with the pastel of his hair, though now was not the time to be having gay appreciation for Jaemin Na.

Mark heaved a sigh, furrowing his eyebrows and giving the boy a shake of his head. "Its more vivid than ever, and more frequent than before."

Jaemin frowned, leaning forward to take a slow sip of his too-strong coffee. When his torso moved, the boy that was oh-so carefully placed beside him tensed, obviously stirring out of a deep thought.

The boy, had medium length hair that was dyed a dirty blonde. The sort of blonde that you see on those old, old movies about people who took slabs of wood and stood on them in the ocean. The type of hair color that reminded you of long, long road trips and laughs that lasted until you were crying. None of these thoughts went through marks head, however, because the look on the boys face told a different story.

The blonde, his name is Renjun Huang, but we all call him June, held thunder in his eyes. June had a temper that rivaled more than half of the government officials that patrolled their college campus, and that is indeed a feat. And June, the very boy that sat before Him, was actively biting back his temper to listen to him, but Mark saw it. He saw the crackle of that lightning.

"I just dont know what to do." Mark murmured, sending a gloomy look to them both. This seemed to calm the storm in June's eyes, but only momentarily as his eyes narrowed and mark saw it again, the crackle.

Suddenly, Mark wasnt so sure that he should talk about these things.

"You know what you should do? You should not talk about this shit in public." June hissed, his shoulders ridged.

Mark scoffed, not in the mood to feel guilty at the moment. "You would be upset at me for talking about it no matter where we are, June, dont pretend otherwise." He said flatly, bringing his slender fingers up to his forehead, and brushing some stray hair out of his eyes.

Renjun was also very attractive, much like Jaemin. The curve of his lips where they met, the crinkle of his eyes when he laughed, his pretty nose. Mark took it in, rolling his eyes at how the sight was being ruined by June opening his mouth. "Yes, YES ill yell at you if you bring it up because i do not want to have myself put into an institution!" June hissed back, standing up and leaning over the table to point an accusing finger at Marks chest.

Jaemin, who had been ignoring them and drinking his coffee with relative peace, was starting to get visibly agitated as well, sending a shocked look between Mark and June.

Its not that these arguments are rare, they happen all the time, but these days his friends words always came out too quickly, filled with too much malicious intent.

 _HIM?! He's worried about himself being sent to an institution?!_ Mark thought, staring at the blonde with intense incredulity.

"YOU?!" The male shouted, shaking his head dubiously while standing up and placing his hands on the small, round table that they were crowded around. "You're worried about YOU being sent somewhere?! YOU arent the one who-" Mark didnt get to finish his sentence, due to Jaemin standing up abruptly and pushing over both Mark, and Junes drinks right onto their laps.

The cotton candy boy sucked in a huge breath, his eyes closed and both of his hands were splayed towards his friends, as if breaking up a physical fight. The pink strands of his hair were cast onto his forehead in his hurry, and when he opened his eyes, they were both daggers.

Mark thought it was pretty.

"Keep it down, Mark." Jaemin said stiffly, sending a pointed look towards the several pairs of eyes trained on the trio. Mark, still shocked at the coffee spreading down his pant leg, looked up at Jaemin with searing fire, and even a little bit of threat, in his stare. That is, until he realized exactly what he was doing.

He closed his eyes, guilt crashing over him. He ignored it. Instead, he was focusing on the muscles that contracted when he clenched and unclenched his fist, and he took a seat. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he slowly opened his eyes and apologized. "Ok. Ok, I'm sorry."

_I almost screwed himself over...its like my fuse gets shorter and shorter every day._

June was silent, regarding Mark with barely concealed hostility. After a second, the former grunted, nodding once to show that he isn't upset.

"Junnie....aren't you even a little curious? Curious about how two gigantic masses in space can so suddenly disappear? Curious how your best friend, the boring Mark, is involved?" Mark said softly, adding a personal diss to sweeten the situation.

"No. No, I'm not curious about it at all. I dont want to know why, or how." The younger boy pushed his hand out across the table to mark, offering him a semi-apologetic look and looking too tired to offer anything more.

Mark accepted June's hand, curling his fingers around the others, and Jaemin shook his head, still pissed that his two companions made a scene.

In public.

About the most unspeakable thing to speak about.

In public. 

**Again.**

"Look, i have to go. You two cant keep doing this. If either of you really want to survive, then lets keep this in Marks apartment, and no where else." And with that, Jaemin grabbed his bag and left the two alone.

—————

Soon after Jaemin left the trio's usual table, so did June, which left Mark contemplatively staring at his pale arm.

He almost slipped.

He's never, ever, been that close to being caught.

Yet here he was, almost screaming it out to seventeen strangers in a coffee shop.

 _Im an idiot_ , Mark concluded, his eyebrows furrowed for many, many reasons.

Space was dangerous to talk about these days. Hundreds of years ago, both the sun and moon disappeared without a trace. It happened in the blink of an eye. One second they were there, then the next they weren't.

Some say that they saw a giant screen close in-front of them, separating us humans from space like an automatic sliding door, but no one believes them.

I mean, Who would? Why would the anyone shut off earth from space? How did they close off the entire planet? Those who choose such an impossible theory to believe are the ones that insist its the governments doing. They're the type of people who sit on dirty curbs at the dead of night and ignite green flames under purple mushrooms and lose themselves to the sky.

Most people just call them crazy and move on. Unoriginal, yes, but that doesn't stop the power of the ordinary word when its thrown at someone these days.

One mention of the sun, or the moon for that matter, and suddenly you end up amongst the rest of the ones who follow that insanely crazy idea, holding handmade signs that read "You let your ignorance control you." Until government officials show up and take them to insane asylums.

Others say that they dont care how, or why, because they didnt see that the two heaps of mass were gone, because they hardly even noticed the disappearance at all.

In your mind when you envision the sun disappearing, you would think that everything would be lightless, or that an impossible cold would sweep over the planet. That seems to be exactly opposite of what happened. Its so strange to look up and be able to completely open your eyes to see a light blue sky with no sun.

During the day, its as if everything is normal. The sky is the same, baby blue color that it was when the sun was alive, or so Mark has heard, and it even rained. If you were out for too long, you would still burn, and clouds still found their way across the sky on some days. The seasons haven't changed over the many sunless years, it still gets hot, it still gets cold, the leaves still fall and plants still grow. At night, it's exactly the same. There are still stars in the sky, but there is no moon, yet there are still waves in the ocean.

Again, so Mark has heard. He _wished_ he lived near the ocean.

Another thing Mark often ponders is, "If everything is so similar than before, why is it such a sensitive topic?" Those who prowl at night, sucking on colorful, candy-like pills that take the stress away, paying for someones body to make them feel something, anything, spending all of their money just to have some sort of human experience, dont just stand outside with picket signs. There have been full on riots, thousands have died all because these people truly believe that the government took the Sun and Moon away from us all.

Though who could really blame them? All space travel endeavors have been halted for good. NASA was shut down right before they planned to send scientists up into space to try and solve what happened. Anyone who is found talking ill about the government, or talking about anything Space related at all has to face severe consequences and charges of being a traitor, hence June's anger towards Mark.

 _This is exactly why i shouldn't be spewing about what goes on in my head in public. Im such an idio-_ "Um....Excuse me? Mark? Can you hear me?"

A soft voice interrupted his scolding, a beautiful voice that Mark would compare flowers to, and the sound was reminiscent of the way flower petals curled at the ends and to the sound of the small, soothing waves lapping at the stone walls at the docks. It was warm and high pitched and made him want to smile.

And, much to Mark's surprise, he found himself supporting such a smile.

"...Mark...?"

Upon hearing his name once more, Mark blinked several times, snapping out of his reverie and looking around to find the source, making him slam his nose into a soft stomach. Mark jolted back, as if it hurt to touch, and he stood up abruptly to bow an apology.

....only to have the soft voiced boy to bow as well, resulting in a simultaneous gasp from both boys.

Clutching his forehead, Mark blubbered a couple of apologies before stopping mid 'sorry' to realize two things.

—————


	2. Ring, Ring, Click.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For future reference, if you guys would like a clean, smut free version of this book, ill be posting it on my Wattpad. Happy reading.

The first, and possibly most important at the moment, thing that Mark realizes, is that the boy is absolutely stunning. He had grey, almost silver hair, long enough to cover the nape of his neck, and curl over his ears and eyebrows. His skin was like honey, which was quite rare these days due to the amount of skin bleaching citizens went through to have lighter skin, and it momentarily made Mark mentally scold all the people who would do such a thing. His lips were a little pink, and a little glossy, which frankly drew Marks eyes to them way to well. On top of that, they were plump and heart shaped, and when the boy in front of him opened such lips to talk they made the most beautiful sound. Mark followed the scattered moles on the boys cheeks to his eyes, which were colored a striking black, the navy eyeliner only accenting the color.

The second thing....

"....Mark Lee...?"

....was that the boy knew his name. Suddenly, it hit him like a freight train that something wasn't right with this situation. He blinked hard, and pulled his mouth into a frown, fighting down a blush at how intensely he must have been staring.

"Who are you?" Mark asked, his voice confident and curious, but if you listened close enough you could also hear the slight coldness of his guard being put up in his tone.

"Im someone who's just like you." The boy answered, offering a smile that made mark want to do something in between punching him and kissing him.

"And whats that supposed to mean?" Mark frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down into the guarded eyes before him. They were friendly enough, but there were no answers for him.

The boy was quiet, turning his head to look at the many sparkly strangers who had one by one started to stare at the natural beauty standing in front of them. "I think we should take a walk. Shall we?" The boy said, with another one of his unspecific smiles as he offered for Mark to take his arm.

He didnt.

—————

Once they were out on the sidewalk, Mark took it upon himself to cast another glance in the boy's direction. The two looked like polar opposites, the only similarity being their build and their height. Marks hair, which was a very bright blonde, looked like the color of the sun if you stared directly at it. His skin was a very milky, pale color, his lips were thin, and his eyes were light blue, much unlike the ethereal boy walking beside him.

The boy seemed to notice, and sported a small smirk. "Did you have your skin bleached? You look like a ghost." He purred, his eyes dancing with what looked like curiosity.

These words once again seemed to bring Mark down to earth, a frown playing at the corners of his thin lips. "So, Who are you? How do you know my name?" Mark questioned, trying to ignore how the boys eyes seemed to carry the calm light of the moon.

The boy waved his hand, as if waving off the questions. When he spoke, his voice was casual, maybe too casual for the subject. "I have the same dreams you do, and i think its in your best interest that you listen very carefully so that you and your friends dont get hurt." And when he was done, Mark realized that he wasn't speaking with a casual tone, but with an arrogant one. And it just so happened to piss Mark off.

However, his friends were mentioned, so he shut up for the time being. "Im listening." He snapped, earning a sharp glance from the boy.

"Theres an organization that can help you. One thats trying to find answers. One thats looking for people like you. And i think you should see them." He says calmly, but not without urgency, especially when his big eyes land on the white-clad official standing by the town squares fountain and get the tiniest bit bigger.

The boy smiled, turning to face Mark and reaching his hand into the latters pocket. "Use this to contact me. I expect that this encounter wont be enough to curb your interest." He paused, retrieving his hand and instead placing it on the nape of Marks neck, pulling himself closer.

"Those officials recognized me, so I suppose you should get home. Unless you want to be "put somewhere" as you called it." The male purred, leaning back with a smug grin and promptly walking away.

And Mark, despite the strong displeasure he felt at the males arrogance, felt his blush from earlier creeping back up his neck. 

Sure enough, the second the silver haired male had left his side, Both of the officials stationed in front of the fountain had started to stride towards him. Which in turn, made Mark instantly start walking in the other direction. To be fair, Mark has never been in any kind of real trouble, but he couldnt say the same for Jaemin or June. Thats why his brain went to automatic panic mode when someone grabbed him by the arm and let out some sort of shriek.

Hearing a familiar laugh, he spun around, flashing a half embarrassed, half relieved smile.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but i didn't feel like going home so i was gonna catch back up with you at the coffee shop. Who was that cutie you were walking with?" His cotton candy friend giggled, letting his head fall to the side in a questioning manner.

Whatever calm Jaemin had brought him all came crashing down at the question, his smile dissolving.

"We need to talk. Tell Renjun to meet us at my place." Mark muttered stiffly, lacing his arm through Jaemin's and starting to walk in the direction of his apartment.

—————

It was like déjà vu.

All three boys sat in a circle on the floor of Marks living room, a sickening silence filling the air around them with dread. That same sour feeling nipping at the noses of the three males.

Without much fidgeting, thankfully feeling comfortable in his own home, Mark launched into a recount of what had taken place after the two beside him left the coffeehouse. Of course, he left out several details involving anything to due with the boy's immense beauty out of pure annoyance left over from earlier.

This time, The boy kept eye contact with his friends, gauging their reactions with apprehension.

Surprisingly, June spoke up first. "What was his name?" And to Marks repeated surprise, there was only curiosity in his voice.

"I dont know." He replied honestly, sending a glance towards his pants pocket. "Oh!" He exclaimed, reaching into the pocket and pulling out a slip of cardboard paper. "He gave me this though. He said i can use it to contact him." He spoke quickly, reaching for his holo-phone.

A hand on his wrist stopped him, and by the skin tone he figured it was Jaemin. "Dont be too hasty." He muttered, pulling back. "Whoever he is, he sounds like big trouble."

"Thats a great way to put it." Commented June, who was pinching the palm of his hand nervously. "We might be in deep shit. He said that the officials recognized him, which means they saw him with you, and now they probably have eyes on you, which means they have eyes on us." The dirty blonde rambled, his words sticking together with stress.

"Yea, but you guys dont have to be involved. I can call and talk to them by myself. I only called you here to let you guys know...you know..." _In case I disappear._

The sentence goes unfinished, but everyone knew how it went.

There was another long, long stretch of silence between the boys.

"So...what are we gonna do about this number?" Jaemin asked, leaning his head on the arm he had propped up on his knee. He reached over and took the slip out of the blondes hands, bringing it closer to his face to examine it.

It was colorful, little whirls and etchings covering the entire piece front and back. These days, thats what you would call a phone number, except this phone number was different than the others. Usually, black ink was used to etch in the symbols, but this one had a plethora of colors, some mixing into each other from one sloppily written symbol to the next. Another thing, was that the symbols were, in fact, handwritten, which means they were using a private holo-machine, something that was unheard of unless you were in hiding. The government issues all communication devices, including the portable holo-phones, which also comes with 

"Call? Text?" Mark offered, smiling a little at the knowledge that June hated both of those options.

"This isn't supposed to be Funny, Mark. Not at all. We could be in some deep shit." June fired back heatedly, reaching over to snatch the phone number out of Jaemin's grip to observe himself.

"I mean what other option is there? Turn it in? Too many questions will be asked." Jaemin reasoned, albeit reluctantly.

June opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut and fell backwards into a laying position. It looked as if something was gnawing at the back of his brain, holding him back from agreeing. Mark could probably guess what it was.

He was just as apprehensive as the other two, but he had something they didn't. He had the smallest twinge of hope that he could finally resolve the dreams that had haunted him for so long.

"Look, June if we call now we can-"

"OR," The shorter boy's eyes were trained on Mark as he sat up. "We can throw it in the incinerator and not worry about this anymore."

"What good will that do us Junnie? This could actually give us answers." Jaemin quietly weighed in, not looking at anyone in particular.

There was a pause and a look of pure incredulity.

"Jaemin. You cant seriously believe that any good can come out of calling that number. He could be REPORTED! He could be thrown in An institution! Wiped out of existence!" The small boy exclaimed, sitting up once more and grabbing the cotton candied boy's arm.

All they did for a second was exchange a look.

Then Mark spoke. "I dont want to deal with my dreams anymore. They make me feel out of place. Like im missing something. I cant stop thinking about them. This person sounded like they were having the dreams too. If they are, and i call the number, they might actually be able to help me. I need this to happen. I cant live with these forever."

A long silence. June wasnt looking at Jaemin anymore. His hand had fallen into his lap.

"Please." Mark pleaded, his eyes going wide with the realization of his willingness to call the number without them.

Another long silence.

Just as he was about to give up, June looked at him, giving a curt nod.

"Ok....ok fine. But you have to tell us everything that happens. Everything. If you go down then so do we." Jaemin said sternly, which in turn had Jun whipping his head around to look at him.

"Woah woah, i wouldnt say going down with...." the dirty blonde began hastily, but quickly shut his mouth at the sight of Jaemin's glare.

Mark grinned, pleased to have some sort of support through this. "Alright, deal." The male once again reached out for the slip of symbols, but just like last time he was stopped.

"Lets worry about calling tomorrow though....Im tired." June's tone was guarded, but Mark could tell he still needed to adjust to the idea.

Instead of saying anything, Mark grabbed his arm and stood up, pulling June towards his bedroom with silent agreement. Jaemin followed suite, taking the paper from Jun gently and sliding it into his pocket.

Soon enough the three were snuggled in blankets, drifting off to sleep crammed comfortably on the small bed.

——————

Stifling heat flared over Mark.

He was sitting on a shrunken version of the moon, just big enough for him to sit down comfortably.

The sun was directly in front of him, almost looking at him. It was bright and insistent and searching and it made the blonde uncomfortable. Well, that and the uncomfortable waves of warmth that had strands of his hair sticking to his forehead.

It wasnt still, the sun, it was changing. The yellow and orange flames licked off of the surface, daring across the void to attempt to steal a touch from the blonde.

When Mark visibly recoiled, and in turn almost fell off of his moon, the sun started to morph into something humanoid.

And it was reaching for him.

Those licking, searching flames reached out for him once more, and made contact with the arm he had thrown up in defense. He yelped with no sound, the vacuum of space choking him. 

To Marks horror his skin started to peel off, sizzling to a crisp. He attempted another scream, but he was again choked off, and this time it was the searing flames licking into his mouth that did it.

Hot, white flashes of pain filled his entire mouth, traveling down his throat until he could feel it burning through his insides. It was like being eaten alive, he could feel each and every burn.

Soon enough, the sun's hand had reached him, and it hovered right above his head.

His hair burst into flames.

The sun slowly placed its hand on his head, clearly not minding how Mark's skin sizzled and burned away underneath its touch, and how He was now was now full on screaming, well trying to, but no sound came out.

His eyes bulging and mouth flung open in a twisted, horrifying expression.

He couldn't breath.

His vision went white, the pain eating him until he finally ripped a scream from deep within his chest, leaving his throat intensely raw and his chest heaving.

—————

The night sky was so dull. Needle points of stars scattered across the sky. Pointless without the moon.

June had lied when he told Mark he wasn't curious. He longed to see the Moon. The sun. Whatever. Its not like it matters.

The younger boy had gotten up when Mark had started to shake, shaking Jaemin awake to observe with him. He was scared if he was really honest with himself. He had never, and i mean _never_ seen Mark this way.

The older boy was shivering and yelping through his ragged breathing. It had to just be a nightmare. Right? The sun and moon dreams should be peaceful. Full of longing, navy blue skies and puffy white clouds. Not anguish.

Not whatever was written across Marks face as he opened mouth in a silent scream.

Right?

Jaemin, for one, didnt know what to do. Mark was never one to sleep enough. He often overworked himself and was almost always left with bags under his eyes and sleepy smiles. Thats what made them resist waking him up.

On the other hand, The blonde was absolutely rabid. He was thrashing about and sweating profusely. At this rate, he would burn out.

After the few minutes that the two boys waited, nervously observing their counterpart and searching for signs of improvement, Jaemin surged forward, crawling across the bed to Mark and wrapping his arms and legs around him.

"Mark,"The pink boy whispered right into his friends ear, face pressed against the his neck. "Mark, wake up."started to shake the other man slightly. "Please, please just wa-"

For a brief moment, Mark's body went rigid, but as soon as it had come, it was gone, and the older boy threw himself into a sitting position. In the process, he had unintentionally shoved Jaemin off of him, but the pink haired male didnt seem to mind because of the absolutely blood curdling scream that had torn its way out of Mark's body.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke, due to each of the boy's recollecting themselves from what just happened. "What was that?" June whispered, and it made Mark look up at his shadow covered friend, because there was nothing but raw fear in the usually confident boy's voice.

Mark attempted to shrug it off, to try and pretend that it wasn't a big deal, but it looked more like a violent chill would if one had run through his body. His voice came out as a croak, and he choked a little over his words at first, but eventually the words found their way from between his lips. "I dreamt about space again. I die every single time."

Jaemin instantly opened his mouth to, undoubtedly, console him but the older held up a hand. "Thats not why it bothers me so much. I mean of course it does bother me, its torturous to die over and over again, but its not even the worst thing about it." He sputtered, sucking in a break.

Silence.

June is hesitant, but he manages to stutter out a shocked question.

"Then what is it?"

Mark, again, finds his gaze drawn towards his shorter friend who stood frozen by the window of his apartment. "Theres this person that slowly starts to become visible near the end of the dream but I never get to see it completely, Only a glimpse of their figure. Every time i almost see them, but wake up right before i can. Every single time. The more i dream, the more it gets ripped away from me, the more i feel like another piece of me was left behind." His voice was flat, tired.

Theres was more silence, but both of Marks friends were thinking the same thing.

_what had he done to deserve this?_

The youngest frowned, digging fingers into his pocket and retrieving the slip covered in symbols, at the same time reaching over Mark to reach the blondes cell.

He swiftly inserted the paper, the phone calibrating all of the symbols into its system before letting out a faint ding. The baby pink haired boy held the small, slim device up to his ear, smiling once he caught the look of astonishment from both of his friends.

Ring

Ring

Click

"Hello?"

——————


	3. Tàiyáng hé yuèliàng

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short, and im not super happy with it but im having a lot of fun with how much Marks emotions change over Hyuck. If you guys have any tips or suggestions then feel free to leave them :)

An energetic voice cracked across the line almost as soon as the greeting left Jaemin's lips, catching all of the still-sleepy boys off guard due to the time of night it currently was, which was about 3:00 am.

"HELLO! This is Tàiyáng hé yuèliàng Chinese, how can i help you?"

The boys all cocked their heads to the side in unison, Jaemin startling a little more than the others since the voice stabbed right into his ear.

"A prank?" June mouthed to Mark, shrugging his shoulders. The cheery voice rang through the holo-phone once more, although this time it sounded a little more tired than before. "...Hello?"

"A-ah yes sorry. Hi." Obviously the youngest didnt know how to answer, stumbling over his words and stuttering quite a bit.

"What would you like today?" The voice sang out. The sound was high pitched, and whoever it belonged to must have been young.

"One moment please." And with that, Jaemin pressed the phone against his chest. "How am I supposed to ask about this??" The younger violently whispered, clearly distressed over his impulsive choice.

Mark shrugged and extended his hand out for the phone, which had June opening his mouth to protest. Before he could, Mark sent him a glare and placed the device up to his ear.

"Hello? Yeah, I have a question." The blonde stated into the device, confidence unfurling in chest as he spoke with an unwavering voice.

The other end of the line was silent, clearly waiting for the boy to continue.

"I received this slip of paper from a silver haired dude a couple hours ago. You know him? Like 5'7, kinda thin, has-." Mark listed, cutting off when an image of the boy flashed in front of his eyes. He unconsciously let the smallest of smiles appear on his mouth. "...has dark eyes, long eyelashes." He murmured, avoiding the looks his friends were undoubtedly sending his way.

The voice on the line seemed on the verge of saying something, which was a funny thought since Mark couldnt see them, but the tension that made its way through the receiver to wrap its hands around the boys throat, his confidence draining out of him as his mind overworked itself. He felt something lash through him, something that was hot and bitter and it filled him up to the brim. It took him a second, but it registered as betrayal.

Betrayal because of how stupidly beautiful that boy was.

Betrayal because his voice was sticky when he pronounced his “L”s and soft and a little rough around the edges in the ways that made Mark want to trust him even if he spoke like he knew everything in the world.

Betrayal because Mark was starting to think that this _wasn't_ the organization, but a direct line to his demise.

That's the exact moment that Mark realized he was stupid. Whoever he was talking to wasn't on the verge of anything, instead they were _covering_ the receiver, talking with someone in a muffled slur of words.

".....hello?" He called, nervous and so, so angry that he promised he would find the boy later and punch him. He knew was a futile thought, as soon as it passed over him, because the boy would smile and maybe laugh , so Mark would want to kiss him instead.

The male, Mark assumed, on the other end of the line squeaked, forgetting that Mark was even listening.

And just like that, a sudden click came from the other end, and the slip of symbols slid out of the device and floated to the floor, signifying the end of the call, and causing June to suck in a deep breath. Or four, or eight.

"What are we gonna do?!" The sandy haired tom whispered to no one in particular, throwing his hands up to his head and tugging at his hair. "We'll die! We're gonna die for sure! They're going to come to this house and kill us. How much do you want to bet they tracked the holographic frequency!?" His voice had grown from a whisper to a shrill scream, causing Jaemin to flutter comforting hands over him. The boy's breathing had become rapid and wheezy, his words tumbling out of his mouth and his eyes darting around the room. Even the pastel boy beside him looked nervous, and he was the type of person to always try and find the positives of a situation.

Mark, more calm than he probably should be, reached down to pick up the slip of paper, his eyes scanning over it thoughtfully. "He knows." The words are out of him before he can stop them, and his face scrunches up because they sound so _angry_. "He knows im gonna call again." He said, his fingers curling themselves into fists. But he's right, he knows he is. He knows because the beauty from before was arrogant and he had said it himself, in his own way. Jaemin began to protest, asking how he was so sure, but Mark wasn't listening. He had already shoved the slip back into the entry port, watching as the system recalibrated it and crossing his fingers.

He didnt even know why he was trying again because every single fiber in his body was screaming at him not to out of pure spite. He felt uncertain and angry and scared, yet he _wanted_ to call again. He brought the device up to his ear, his eyes falling shut and waiting in silence.

A heartbeat.

He would never admit it, and even denies it to himself, but somewhere deep inside of him he only calls because that infuriating, breathtaking boy had said that they were the same. He said they were the same and he wanted to believe it so badly because for once he wasnt alone.

A strained breath.

He crossed his fingers tighter, squeezing his eyes shut even more and childishly beginning to chant _please please please_ under his breath because that black hole of loneliness is threatening to swallow him hole and he desperately wanted that outrageously cute boy to drag him out. He wanted that boy to be right.

Ring.

Ring.

Click.

"You called..."

Mark let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He sounded...pleased. Or surprised, or like he expected it, or maybe all three but none of it mattered because Mark reveled in it. He wiped the grin that was creeping into the corners of his mouth away, and steeled himself.

"I did." He confirmed, thinking vaguely that his voice sounded a little too giddy for someone who was talking to an arrogant stranger.

"Im glad you did. So, here's the big question...Are you willing to join the organization?"

Woah woah woah...come again?

"Hey, wait a sec. You gave me this slip of paper to contact you. And i did, but i did it for more information, not to sign my dreams away." He frowned, his tone irritated and tired.

"Thats silly, Mark. I cant tell you stuff in front of your friends, thats too many loose ends to worry about." The boy says as if its the most obvious thing in the world. "Plus, you can trust me."

Mark didnt doubt it for a second, he really didnt, especially because of how _happy_ the boy sounded when Mark said so.

"Good! So, are you in?" He sounded resigned, professional again, and it just so happened to make a just so blushing blue-eyed boy fall down from cloud nine and realize exactly _what_ he was agreeing to.

He was agreeing to walk right into the pretty boys trap, to leave his family behind, and when he glanced up and met both of their eyes he was painfully aware that they knew it too.

So, he furrowed his brows and scowled.

"You almost had me. What even are you." Mark complained, tired and annoyed.

The boy giggled, which Made mark scowl even more, not that it wasn't cute.

"C'mon Mark, dont make this harder than it needs to be." What really struck Mark is that he sounded like he had dropped all of his guards, trusting and beautiful.

"What am I supposed to do? Just leave? You underestimate them." Mark states, because he knows its the truth. Jaemin would rather strip in public than let the oh-so rational Mark make a decision based off of a pretty face and a shot in the dark chance to succeed at something illegal, and June would personally kill him. Well, they'd do those things if he did it without them, thats for sure.

Obviously, the words leaving Marks thin lips perked his friends' interest, as they both stopped staring so intently and started to migrate closer to eavesdrop with a smile on their faces.

"That's fine. They can come. Dont cry when they get denied at the door." Mark could _hear_ the stubborn walls go up in his voice, those stupid arrogant walls.

"Okay, then i agree."

"Perfect" he purred, and Mark was going to ask where and how and what, but the line clicked off with a finality that made the blonde close his eyes and made June murmur something in dissatisfaction.

The phone was still up to his ear when it started.

The oldest of the three gasped, his arm flailing as the phone started to violently vibrate in his hand. His eyes snapped open. The object was screaming "ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!" at the boys, shuddering in Mark's grasp. A strong, orange light was shining through the entry port. It was...hot. A hot light that got brighter until the entire phone seemed like it was trying to struggle out of Marks fingers and Mark _screamed_. The scorching device screamed back, finally escaping Mark's instinctive hold and hit the hardwood floor with a sizzle. June yelped, jumping back and stumbling over the furniture in the room to find safety. He was smart.

The phone was still shuddering in what seemed to be an attempt to extinguish the heat. Within a blink the cell was glowing red like an ember and a thin slip of....something shot out at The oldest of the three.

Of course, he cursed and dove onto his bed, using his pillows and blankets as protection from the U.F.O.

He pledged all over again to hurt that boy of his.

There was a long period of silence, the clattering noise of the phone skittering on the floor and the loud ERRORs gone, causing Mark to finally peek from his hiding space. Pushing the pillow covering his face off, he looked around the room hesitantly, spotting June's ankles from behind his curtains, and seeing a familiar cotton candy color peek from his closet door.

His eyes moved to his lap, where he found a charred slip of ash, small words scorched through it.

"Meet at the cafe from earlier. 11:00. ~H"

He picked it up gingerly, not wanting it to crumble, and he read the words over and over again in his head.

And smiled.

"YES!" He exclaimed, shooting a triumphant fist in the air. "I knew he wasnt lying, i _knew_." He gushed, lying proudly and for nothing. Everyone knew the truth.

June stomped over, the power of his vibrations shaking the bed and in turn causing the corners of the ash paper to crumble.

"Stop! Stop, you're going to break it!" Mark gasped, cradling it as if it was his last hope. It kind of is.

Jaemin had somehow reached the bed without him noticing, and gently took the paper from the males grasp.

And June tried to do the same, but nothing was ever gentle about June.


End file.
